Nerd Transition
by Michael Kayne
Summary: This is an original Matrix fic about a sheltered college boy who is eventually unplugged. It deals with version 1.3 of the Matrix, which means that all of the bugs haven't been worked out yet (hint!). Hope you enjoy it!


THE MATRIX: ver. 1.3  
  
LOADING PROGRAM AT 2:41:82...PROGRAM UPLOADED. :.LOADING SPECIFICATIONS..MAPPING AT COORDINATES 0:1--20:0. COORDINATES MAPPED. LOCKING COORDINATES AT 8:22:7:00..COORDINATES LOCKED. PROGRAM RUNNING. SYSTEM READY: _  
  
Chapter 1  
  
David stared blankly out of his dorm window, every now and then taking the time to gaze at the tiny raindrops traveling at different speeds down the glass pane. He couldn't help feeling that looking at that window and the raindrops distorting the images through it, he was looking into another world. Perhaps a parallel universe, something he could never reach yet he could see it right there in front of him. He began developing questions in his mind as to what this feeling might be, but he couldn't come up with anything logical. Strange, he thought. I know just about every mathematical equation and emotion and feeling in the world, but I can't come up with anything rational for this.why is it that night after night, day after day I stare through this glass window as if I am in a prison?  
"Maybe I just need to get out more," he said out loud. All of a  
sudden, as if by cue, his telephone rang. He ran to answer it.  
"Hello?" No answer. He waited a moment. Just as he was about to hang  
up, a distorted-sounding voice answered. It sounded almost like a  
filter, but it was very machine-like.  
"Ou.Sialing four one two eight nine.red Irgraaaa.blue pills," it  
said.  
"Huh?" David asked. It sounded like a human voice was trying to break  
through.  
"Razzca-FrezzzReCALL.I.Xciouz.Stay on theGRAZL.line. Hold on,"  
said the voice.  
"Okay. I'm here."  
"FILteRRinGGG.Seven nine two eight one.LinE TrACE.CLEAN.  
Listen to me very carefully. I've been watching you for the past few years.  
David F. Shapiro, born 1987 on August 8th. You have many talents. One  
  
thing you must realize is that you are not alone. There are others who  
feel  
the same way that you do. Men have spent their entire lives just  
gazing out  
their windows, looking, wondering if there is something beyond what  
they  
see, as if reality is an inferior part of the whole. Would you like to  
know  
what it means?" the male voice asked.  
"Yes."  
"I can answer all of your questions. Meet me at 700 Bergstrom  
Street at Rich's Café right now. Do not walk in. Stand outside.  
I will meet you."  
"Okay."  
"Goodbye. ShrinFxxzzzzz.Line closed." The dial tone came back. David looked at his phone for a moment before hanging it up. That was weird. Nevertheless, he decided to go. He did have questions that needed answering, and they were not simple questions. They were complex, spatial, almost, he thought.metaphysical questions that transcended the very essence and soul of what it meant for something to be "real". He went over to his closet and took out his jacket. Walking downstairs, he passed a man in a leather jacket, spiked red hair, and dark sunglasses.  
"Hey," said the man. "Uh.hey," said David.  
"Did you get the call?" the man asked. "Wha.uh, yes?" said David, a bit confused. "Good. Tonight, you're set free man. It's good to see the world when you're not through the looking glass. Good to be.on top of things." "On second thought.I should go back." The man was clearly on drugs or alcohol. Pretty soon, David feared he would begin describing the "beautiful colors swirling all around". "No, man," the guy replied, as if to answer his thoughts. "Don't go. Wait until you see the world how it really is.I know you don't get out much. It'll do you good to get some fresh air. Weather's nice outside. Nice and dark. Watch yourself though. You never know what kind of freaks are out on a night like this." "Agreed," said David, looking at the man in a sarcastic way. All of a sudden, the man's cell phone rang. "Damn." He answered it. "Hello?" He listened for a few moments and hung up. "Gotta go man. Duty calls. Remember what I said: be careful out there. I'm serious." He walked back up the stairs.  
"See ya," said David as he ran out the door. The coffee shop was only a couple blocks away, so he ran as fast as he could in case anyone might be following him. He turned the corner. A few more feet and he would be there. Suddenly, a black sedan sped up to the curb where he was standing. The back door opened. "Get in," said a young asian woman who sat in the back seat. David obediently got in, just as two police cars slid around the corner of the street. "Shit, we got company!" said a blond-haired man driving the car. He looked like he was in his late twenties or so. He had blue eyes.  
"What the hell's going on?!" asked David. "Indeed," said a man in the front passenger seat. "We got agents on our ass!"  
"Agents.you mean feds?!" "Yeah, they can be feds sometimes. Other times they can be your friends, people you know.and other times they can be astronauts or something. They could even be you, until you're unplugged."  
"What in God's name are you talking about?" asked David wildly. "It means you're a damn slave, kid! Either we can help you get out of it or you'll have to deal with the fact that you're actually living a false existence playing Duracell battery for these fucking guys!" "Tommy!" screamed the driver.  
"What?" asked Tommy. "You fucking prick! Don't you know the rules?!" "I wasn't aware of any rules, sorry. The kid wants the truth, that's what he's getting." "Over a period of time, asshole! God, I swear, sometimes I just want to plug you back in and shut you off!"  
"Watch it Mantrov, I'll fucking put a cap in your head!" "Hey you two assholes up there! Could you please try to get along?!" yelled the woman from the back seat. "How fucking old are you guys?! Fucking A! And you call me a bitch?! Get the hell over your differences, for God's sake! And Tripper, grow some balls and put the pedal to the floor, they're practically on our bumper! How are you, David?" asked the woman as these multiple events were happening.  
In a very stressed voice, David said "I'm fine.I, uh, think." 


End file.
